The Ever-Creeping Rise Of Highbrow Horror

Horror flicks are often relegated to a lesser category than their prestigious film peers. Whether due to excessive violence, sexual content, or narrative clunkiness, many of them were written off as low-brow entertainment for the masses – and hardly, if ever, considered when it came to awards season and critical acclaim. There were certainly outliers (Hitchcock and Carpenter among them), but the genre has largely been looked down at by cinephiles since its inception. Horror’s historical reputation as common fare has frequently prevented it from being taken seriously, but thanks to a rise in smart, layered scripts, high-quality production value, and innovation, prestige has finally begun to find a home in the genre.

The 1990s saw meta, self-aware flicks like Scream demonstrate that a horror film could both scare and start a conversation, and the last decade or so has truly given us peak highbrow horror films. The widening of opportunities for indie filmmakers has certainly opened up a few doors when it comes to giving audiences more choices and variety of stories, and now, the respect for horror has made its way into the mainstream.

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What exactly does this new wave of storytelling entail? Well, rather than utilizing exploitation, gore, and objectification for scares and shock value, these films often harbor a unique, powerful message underneath all of the frights. “Metaphors” may sound yawn-inducing, but hear me out: wouldn’t you rather be scared by something, and then be pleasantly surprised to discover something of substance lurking beneath the surface? (If not, you can go. Moving on.) Consider It Follows, David Robert Mitchell’s critically-acclaimed 2014 film that sees a young woman stalked by a murderous supernatural being after a sexual encounter. On a technical level, it’s a total feat – it’s clearly heavily inspired by Carpenter and horror of the 1970s and 80s, but narratively, it’s awe-inspiring. It Follows takes the horror trope that sees women who have sex die gruesome deaths and instead explores the aftermath of a sexual assault. It doesn’t try to force feed this to you, either – it’s all up to interpretation. But scene after scene and Maika Monroe‘s performance speaks to this metaphor, and it’s a wildly effective one.

Horror surprisingly lends itself to an endless stream of these kinds of stories; what better way to illustrate the inherently monstrous nature of trauma, depression, anxiety, or addiction than with a literal monster? The Babadookdoes this beautifully and embodies protagonist Amelia’s mental illness and grief, and Buffy the Vampire Slayerdid it weekly on television. In the last year or so alone, films like The Witch, It Comes At Night, Raw, and Get Outhave all loudly, proudly demonstrated just how far we’ve come and where the genre is headed. They tackle faith (or the lack thereof), the destruction of families, coming-of-age and the sexual awakening that comes with it, and the true terror of being black in America. It’s almost hard to believe that Get Out exists and is so effectively scary, brilliant, and playful in equal measure – it’s a testament to the breathtaking evolution of the genre and what inclusivity can do for art (and it started getting Oscar buzz upon release!)

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It, the highly-anticipated Stephen King adaptation that broke box office records last weekend, is another trophy to add to horror’s expanding shelves. The coverage around it says so much; it’s been a high-profile project from the start, fought for by directors and sought out by young stars. Its high production value, nuanced script, and general social reception are all indicative of its status as a respected, prestigious piece of art no longer sneered at by the film community. mother!, perhaps not straightforward horror but marketed as such, also speaks to the rise in esteem for the genre. Who knew Darren Aronofsky‘s next film would be a horror-convention rife allegory for our treatment of the planet?

The genre will never stop producing cheap reboots, gore-filled, sex-driven slasher flicks, or other plotless wonders, but the the cachet of these new films and the shift that’s come with them is a welcome breath of fresh air in the film landscape. Horror is worthy of critical love, box office success, and awards. It’s about time the genre got the respect it deserves.